Kia Pro_cee'd GT first drive review

19 Mar 2014Stephen Ottley

Think of this as Kia's WRX.

The new Pro_cee?d GT may have a silly name but it?s a serious car for the South Korean brand. It takes the brand known for cheap and cheerful cars into the hot hatch business, a playground where it will be matched to some of the biggest names in the market ? Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford Focus ST and Renault Megane RS, to name a few.

Kia has faith in its product too, because it launched the car this week in Hobart and allowed journalists to put it to the test on some of the same roads used in the Targa Wrest Point rally, as well as Baskerville Raceway; a challenging racetrack just outside Hobart.

But Kia Australia?s faith in the Pro_cee?d GT ? and its persistence to bring it here ? has paid off. It doesn?t reset the hot hatch benchmark but after a day behind the wheel it has to be said Kia has produced a fast car it can be proud of.

Pushing the Pro_cee?d through the undulating bends of Baskerville and the challenging mountain roads south of Hobart highlighted its finely balanced suspension, punchy engine and sporty character.

The engine is the same 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit found in the Hyundai Veloster Turbo and produces 150kW and 265Nm. That?s not headline grabbing numbers but with peak torque available from just 1750rpm the Pro_cee?d has the ability to launch out of a corner rapidly.

On several occasions we found it better to be left in a higher-than-normal gear and rely on the torque to pull you out of a corner. In-gear acceleration was also strong, making overtaking easier.

Keep pushing and the lack of grunt, compared to a GTI, ST or RS, becomes noticeable the closer you get to the engine?s redline but the Pro_cee?d will be fast enough for most people who like a weekend blast in the country.

Unfortunately the engine does sound a little lacklustre, lacking the aural impact you want from a hot hatch.

Underlining its performance focus the Pro_cee?d is only available with a manual transmission. Fortunately it?s a slick six-speed unit with well-spaced ratios that give you flexibility when pushing the car along a challenging road, but also allowing you to cruise in the city or on the highway.

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The gearbox action is sharp and the throw is short, so finding the right slot is never a problem.

Pulling the Pro_cee?d up are 300mm front and 262mm rear discs with twin-piston callipers. They are capable of arresting the car sharply; the initial bite is strong but the pedal lacks feel which can make modulating them precisely a challenge. And we found repeated big stops took its toll on the road loop, but they recovered reasonably quickly.

The minor brake issue aside, the Pro_cee?d was impressive on the roads we tested it on, including a decent section of snaking gravel road.

Kia Australia has invested heavily in a local ride and handling optimisation program, working with its factories to tailor the suspension and steering to Australia?s unique road conditions. For the Pro_cee?d the company did almost double its usual amount, racking up over 7000km of testing in Australia, Europe and Kia?s Korean proving ground.

The process was helped by the Pro_cee?d's multi-link rear suspension set-up, which is more complex than the suspension on the Korean-built Cerato it is based on and helps improve the ride and handling.

The Australian team?s focus was on finding the right compromise between responsiveness and comfort and it has been pretty successful.

The Pro_cee?d changes direction better than any previous Kia. Through a series of snaking bends, the Pro_cee?d felt composed and responded to inputs quickly.

When the road surface deteriorated the suspension could get unsettled in corners, but it never felt out-of-control and quickly settled once the road smoothed out.

Overall, it did an admirable job of soaking up larger bumps, again settling quickly, and wasn?t uncomfortable over inconsistent road surfaces.

Riding on Michelin Pilot Sport tyres means there is good grip too and it withstood a day of hard punishment.

The steering was another area the Kia Australia team worked hard to fine-tune for local conditions. Surprisingly, giving the sporty intentions of the Pro_cee?d, it misses out on Kia?s FlexSteer adjustable steering ? that allows you to selected different weightings based on preference.

But, frankly, the Pro_cee?d is better for it, because FlexSteer is largely a gimmick that is unnecessary. It also means Kia Australia had only one setting to worry about and the result is pretty impressive.

It?s not too heavy around town but once you build speed and start hitting corners it feels nicely weighted and is direct and responsive. It?s not as sharp as the Focus ST and doesn?t provide the same feedback and feel as the Megane RS but it is still impressive (and is another big step forward of previous Kias).

The Pro_cee?d also has the sporty looks to match its sporty drive. The car was designed by the brand?s European studio and continues its positive makeover.

Some of the design highlights include the four LED daytime running lights either side of the lower front grille, a rear spoiler and 18-inch alloy wheels.

One negative of its stylish shape is poor over-the-shoulder visibility from the driver?s seat thanks to the sharply upswept rear window.

Inside, the same high-quality design carries over. The dashboard is angled towards the driver, a lot of soft-touch plastics are used and there is a high level of standard equipment (see separate story for details).

The highpoint of the interior though is the Recaro seats that are finished in black leather and suede with contrasting red stitching. They not only look good but are supportive as well.

As a maiden hot hatch, the Pro_cee?d GT is a good effort from Kia. It drives well and looks the part. But ultimately it falls a little bit short of its key rivals in most areas of performance. But with a starting price of $29,990 (plus on-road and dealer costs) it does undercut the Golf GTI, Focus ST and Megane RS.

But more importantly it does what Kia Australia wants most of all ? change your perception of what the brand represents.

Its style driven evolution over the last decade is now backed up by serious performance. And just as the WRX did for Subaru in the mid-1990s, Kia hopes that the Pro_cee?d GT will break down barriers and put its name in front of a new audience.